The very well known Heritage Foundation held a conference about the lessons of the Roman Empire for today’s America (The Lessons of the Roman Empire for America Today) at the end of December 2005 in its facilities in Washington, thus proving that American imperialism is not a mental construction of “leftists” or alter-worldists. On the contrary, elites closed to power seem to assume the imperial plans of the country with no complex at all.
Professor J. Rufus Fears devotes himself to establishing a parallelism between the Roman Empire and the United States, especially with regard to the Iraqi colonial adventure, based on the history of the United States and that of the Roman Empire during its period of expansion to the Middle East. Both empires would be the only and absolute superpowers in the world because of their military, political, economic and cultural dominance.
After making a brief review of the Romans’ great achievements in the cultural, architectural and their alleged market economy that brought about social mobility, the reasons to explain the decline and the fall of the empire followed. The policy towards eastern Europe and the Middle East were to be blamed.
Romans began their expansionist phase in the Middle East in the II Century BC to “restore order and stability in the region” where they were later politically involved to establish, from the I Century BC, the Vassal States which had a vast autonomy. Finally, they had no choice but the military occupation and the direct administration of the whole region almost since the II Century AD.
The Persia that Julius Caesar planned to attack was not a Roman ambition for it was considered to be hardly “absorbed” and it kept an influence that was accepted by Rome. However, the Middle East was quickly transformed into a difficult spot mainly because of the civil war in Judea and the riots in Egypt. This showed what the limits of the Roman empire were and taxed the Empire’s finances. Consequences were imminent. On the one hand, the Germanic tribes formed federations and other coalitions to challenge the Empire in the Western flank, and, at the same time, Persia’s expansionism gradually took control of the eastern borders of the Empire.
In short, just to bring such facts to the current context and to get the lessons from the past, the United States would do good by not trusting Iran and regional blocs like the European Union! The empire must be global and no front should be neglected.
J. Rufus Fears got five lessons from it. First, liberal democracies hardly accept their neighbours. Therefore, the countries of the Mediterranean bank have lived for a long time in a permanent state of war between nations. Peace and prosperity have only been possible under the control of the empire. Second, institutions of freedom are not easily exported. Romans understood that liberty was not a universal value and that peoples gave priority to security, something they were capable of providing. Third, an empire can not be ruled by a constitution drafted for a city-state as Rome was during its foundation. Consequently, Romans decided to accept the military dictatorship that would allow them to remain a superpower. Forth, a superpower can’t back down for much hatred would emerge. The fifth and last lesson taken from the Roman empire is that legacy or the balance to posterity is what counts.
From now on, the American empire is theorized and accepted by the elites of a country that does not follow the principles of democracy to assume and accept its role of superpower by means of war and depredation of resources.
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The Lessons of the Roman Empire for America Today
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Link for the repetition of the conference video ( Real audio)
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